Remembering Deanna Kamiel

Colleagues,

It is with great sadness that we write to inform you that our colleague, faculty member Deanna Kamiel, has passed away after a long illness. She was an inspirational teacher, beloved by students and colleagues. Deanna was soft spoken, generous and kind, but also strong, reliable, and always encouraging. She was a documentarian, an educator, and a wonderful human being. Her commitment to her work, to her students, and the impact she has had on them is evident not only by their work, but also in the students’ tributes to a much-loved teacher. Deanna’s absence will be deeply felt.

Deanna has been teaching at The New School since 1992, first as part-time Media Studies faculty, then since 2010 as full-time faculty, and she has been the Director of the Graduate Certificate Program in Documentary Media Studies since 2012. She has taught the classes Television and Ideas, The Cinematic Place, Directing Documentary, Documentary Studies: Foundations of Documentary Practice, and Documentary Studies: Documentary Project. She has also mentored and advised students, organized numerous Doc Talks, the Truth Be Told annual student showcase, and other public events. Just last year, Deanna secured a place for The New School in the DOC NYC Festival’s University Showcase; three filmmakers from the Doc Studies class of 2017 were also selected to screen in that festival’s main slate of shorts program.

We offer our deepest condolences to the Kamiel family. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that memorial donations be made to The Deanna Kamiel Memorial Fund c/o Benjamin Foundation. Notes of condolence may be sent to Janelle McKenzie, McKenziJ@newschool.edu, at the School of Media Studies, who will collect the notes and share with the family.

The School of Media Studies will organize a ceremony to celebrate Deanna’s life and legacy; details will follow.